POLICE FOLLOW ANONYMOUS LEADS IN BURGLARIES

[Henry]

Hi All,

The following information appeared in Friday Afternoon's Edition of The St. Albans Messenger and was written by Lee J. Kahrs, Messenger Staff Writer:

Witness provides key information in Fairfax incident

Fairfax -- Vermont State Police are investigating another string of burglaries in the area, including a witness account from Fairfax.

According to St. Albans Barracks Commander Lt. Rob Evans, an investigation is underway into a number of burglaries on March 31 in Fairfax and Georgia.  There are also reports of additional burglaries in Cambridge the same day.

"Most were burglaries in the daytime where money and video equipment were taken," Evans said in a crime report issued earlier this week.  "There are some similarities in these burglaries which are being jointly investigated by the Uniform Division and the Detectives assigned to the St. Albans Barracks."

On March 31, a Fairfax resident observed a suspicious blue car driving up and down the road, eventually backing into a neighbor's driveway.  The witness posted an anonymous account on the Forum page of the Fairfax Information Web Site, run by longtime resident Henry Raymond.

The house is about 100 yards away through the woods, the witness wrote.  The late-model, four-door, dark blue car had dark, tinted windows, so driver could not be seen.  The person believed the car could have been a Chevy Cavalier or Saturn.

"It was very clean," the witness said of the car, "like it was either just purchased, or just washed, but very well taken care of.  The plate that I got was VT. EEB 578."

The license plate number did not come back to a vehicle registered in Vermont, but the witness is sure the number could not be more than one character off.

After only 5 to 7 minutes, the witness saw two men come out of the house carrying plastic grocery bags "with obvious heavy objects in the bags.

"I witnessed the men, one being approximately 25 years old, clean shaven, short hair, thin build, the other about the same, mabe a little smaller frame, get into the car," the witness wrote.  "One guy got into the front passenger seat and one in the back seat.  The driver never left the car.  They quickly sped off and by then, the damage was done."

The witness also said they gave all this information to the state police.

"All I can say is that they were well coordinated and worked very quickly," the witness said of the suspects.  "They did a lot of damage and didn't have a care in the world and there could have been someone inside the house when they kicked in the door."

Anyone with information about these burglaries should contact the Vermont State Police, St. Albans Barracks at 524-5993.